Tag: Long Beach

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CCBA 2019 – The Festival

Saturday comes and I am trundling down to Long Beach from Glendale for the third time for the festival that ends the California Craft Beer Summit…

First, the line of tents for this festival was an impressive sight. It just kept going off into the distance. So, yes, there was a lot of California beer being poured  

Let’s dive into my best and worst of the small percentage of beers that I could safely sample:

My Best in Show

1. Temescal Brewing Belgo Belgian Pale Ale

2. Cellarmaker Wild Gooseberry Chase IPA

3. Original Pattern Scotch Ale

The Belgo was so good, that I almost wanted to camp at the Temescal booth and have all three of their beers  (I did have the Pils which was quite good). It had a big Belgian yeast character married to a Pale and touch hoppy ale.  Cellarmaker had a trio of IPA’s in cans.  I tried two and again almost went back for number three.  Gooseberry was a crushing hit of Nelson Sauvin hops.  Lastly, Original Pattern brought a freshly kegged Scotch Ale that was lovely and balanced.  

The M’eh List

1. Karl Strauss / Russian River New California IPA

2. Flatland Brewing Middle of Somewhere Else Sour

When you pair anyone with Russian River, the beer should be great.  This IPA would have been boring for a British IPA.  No hop presence at all.  The dry hopped meets apricot sour from Flatland was just butter and apricot.  Pastry sour?

 

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CCBA 2019 – Day 2 – Recap

Here is the Day 2 update from the California Craft Beer Summit…

It started with a blindfold on for Sightless Tasting led by Dr. Toby Wexler from SensPoint Design who showed emphatically that though we are primarily (85%) a visual creature that you should still use and hone that other 15% too. We were passes three separate containers with blends inside and were asked to describe what we smelled. Grapefruit, mango, turmeric passed by, cedar passes by as did coconut and chocolate. Then, we all carefully reached in out to taste four beers. I guessed one right and was just as sure on another that I was wrong on. Probably the best seminar of the two days.

Judging by the crowd and amount of questions afterward, the Kviek (ca-Veek) seminar from Omega Yeast was an attraction. We learned the origin of the yeast, how a blogger just went from Norwegian Farmhouse to Farmhouse to collect the strains that made up this truly home brew yeast which is still being dissected to find its properties. Apparently, it is a cross of a wild yeast and a commercial one. Much of the science flew past me at light speed but speed is one of the attributes of the yeast as it does it’s job very fast.

From there it was back to the Expo to do circuits of the beer and the food with a mid-afternoon stop for a talk on cannabis led by Lori Ajax, the chief of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control. She talked about the process in which marijuana can be state legal to sell. If you have a love of filling out forms and constant oversight, then you would be well suited to either or all of the cultivating, distributing or retail channels.

With that the second day was done. Next up, the Festival.

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CCBA 2019 – Day 1 – Recap

Long Beach – Day 1 of the California Craft Beer Summit, here is what I learned about beer and the Golden State…

The day started with a “Pioneer” presentation, a look back at 1989 when the precursor group to the CCBA started. It was a slick presentation with a drawer- full of anecdotes about what it was like in the early days. John Martin of Drakes, Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, Chris Cramer of Karl Strauss and Tom McCormick of the CCBA were interviewed by another legend in Vinnie Cilurzo. There were secret payoffs, equipment sales from jail and lenient inspectors involved.

Next up was the “numbers” presentation. Bart Watson, the statistics maven for the Brewers Association showed the industry numbers and the contradictory story that they were telling us. The sky isn’t falling. It’s just that the competition is more than it has ever been and that taking a peek into how the post millennial generation is buying might just be a smart thing to do. He also touched on seltzer (including the entrance of Bud Light seltzer) and how closings are still incredibly low for such a mature market. As always, Watson was engaging and funny and made me wish my economics teachers were this much fun.

The expo hall was open by now but I wanted to take in another seminar and one labeled Beer Trends struck my fancy. It ended up being a discussion of four beer styles with a California example poured of Pilsner, kolsch, saison and a sour. It was good info but currently none of those beers are trending unless you count Italian pilsners.

Then it was time to taste some beers and see all the gadgets and gaskets on the trade floor. There were also tap talks and chef demos which got swallowed up in the general hall noise. That leads to a pro tip. Sit up front. That way you hear what is being said and you are first for samples. The best section, for me, was another food and beer pairing area. Time slots of a couple hours allowed for people to wander up when hungry to get a Pale ale with tacos, or Oud Bruin with ice cream. Quick and delicious.

Day 2 news coming tomorrow.

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CCBA Summit Brewery # 1 – Flat Fish Brewing

Our first California stop, in honor of the California Craft Beer Summit in Long Beach is Flat Fish Brewing Company of not-so far away Camarillo.

Here are some of their IPA choices with the last two scheduled to be on tap at the CCBA Fest.

Long Drift IPA – ” Get a fresh bite of peach fuzz out of this one as the Mosaic comes forward through the aroma and enhances its juicy palate. The Citra provides a refreshing citrus-forward, west coast signature. Don’t miss the Simcoe bittering addition that gives a hint of berry!”

Pelican Bay IPA – ” This beer is a showcase for Simcoe and Amarillo hops used throughout the brewing process. The combination delivers a clean light tropical profile with plenty of bitterness for a nice finish. The Pelican Bay malt bill is a little lighter than the Long Drift IPA.”

Turbot Charge Double Red IPA – ” Bite into the dense layered hops in this Red Double IPA. Clocking in at 95 IBUs of well-integrated hops and a solid malt backbone!”

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California Craft Beer Summit – Festival Picks

The festival after the Summit activities has a lot of breweries, consider this your primer on which booths you should target during the fest….

I have compiled 20 beers to try (plus a duo from the White Labs booth) not in any particular order that caught my beer eye.

Blaker Brewing – Vanilla Bean Milk Stout
Burgeon Beer Co. – Clever Kiwi Nelson Hopped Pilsner
Cellador – Clockworks Rustic Saison with Orange Zest and Cardomom
Cellarmaker – Christopher Riwakan Pale Ale
Device – Rice Crispy Boi Rice Lager
Dionysus – Rest in Funk 1 – Black Currants
Faction / Anchorage – Diverge IPA
GameCraft – A-wa-wa-wa-wa! Italian Pilsner
JackRabbit – Czechmate Pilsner
Karl Strauss / Russian River New California IPA
Moksa – Hop Collage NE IPA
New Glory – Ubahdank IPA
Poseidon Brewing – Ironclad Irish-Style Red Ale
Rare Barrel – Blurred T Tart Saison aged in oak barrels with Tempranillo grapes
Seaward Brewing – Sea Plus Dry Hopped Pilsner
Skyland Ale Works – Saison Sans Gluten
Temescal Brewing – Pils
Ten Mile – Jamaican Monk Belgian Tripel aged in Jamaican Rum Barrels
Wave Maiden – Comber Damiana Herbal Ale
Yolo Brewing – The Riceman Cometh Rice lager

and then White Labs has (2) NE IPA’s with one big difference, the yeast.

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In the Tap Lines for September 2019

header_attractionsThis month the big event is in Long Beach as the California Craft Beer Summit comes south for their 2019 iteration.  There will be tips about the festival as well as events surrounding the gathering of the state’s brewers in the coastal town.

~ e-visits to three breweries coming to Long Beach for the Summit Beer Festival
~ special featured reviews of beers in the tall chimney hat can format
~ Heads-Up on Los Angeles Beer Events
~ Three suggested beers to buy this month. One light, one medium and one dark
~ A Book & A Beer reads Kafka by the Shore
~ A Podcast & A Beer listens to 30 for 30 – The Sterling Affairs
~ I will tap the Firkin and give my no holds barred opinion on the craft beer world.

Here are two events to get your September started in the Los Angeles craft beer world:
1) September 21st – Craft Beer LB Festival
2) September 21st – Oktoberfest Kick-Off at Rasselbock Long Beach

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1st Visit – Bottlecraft – Long Beach

I have intermittently checked in on the draft list at Bottlecraft and their Long Beach location and finally made my way to their Hangar location to have to make the difficult choice of what to drink first.

Here are my initial thoughts…This is a real cool food hall but it is in the middle of nowhere. Unlike Grand Central Market or Steelcraft that is in pedestrian areas, the Hangar is out near the Long Beach Airport. To get to the Bottlecraft bar you enter on the street side of the building. OK, you can enter on the other side and be tempted by Portola Coffee first.

Bottlecraft has a 25+ taps arrayed on their cold box and the variety of beers was good on my visit. And they do half-pours which always makes me happy. I started with Indie Brewing’s Garcon French Pilsner and then did a hazy from RIIP Brewing so you can tell that miles and styles separate those two beers.

I also like that if you want to wander around the food choices, you can get a plastic cup (free souvenir) or if you have already placed your food order, you can get glassware at the bar. The prices were pretty on par but really the location is the issue for me. It is a small hike from even Santa Monica let alone from my normal home base of Glendale. With Steelcraft, you may have less options but you are closer to other breweries if you want to make a day of it. But if you find yourself there, it is great for both food and choices.

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1st Visit – Trademark Brewing

Usually I like to first visit a new brewery on opening weekend but I waited a couple weeks before heading to Long Beach to check out the much talked about Trademark Brewing. Here is the initial report…

The space is just huge. A really long blonde wood bar is just one component of a seating area that stretches off into the distance. Jenga and cornhole are way off in the distance and when the sun isn’t actively trying to burn us, there is also outdoor seating.

The taster flight presentation is nice. Logo’d up quite well. I ordered up a wide ranging variety of beers from their menu. I like the 3-word descriptions used. I started with Viking Blonde which was a little fruity with a nice leading hit of orange. Next was the Batch One Farmhouse which imparted a spicy clove.  Almost a Cinnamon Tripel which must be from the expressive yeast. Waffles is how I would describe it. Into IPA territory for Hula Moon which is lots of pineapple. Tastes like the near the core. Gristly part. Not really IPA to me but amazing to know that it is the hops creating that fruit taste. Hop choice two was Keyboard Warrior which I think is a great name. This imperial tastes a little burnt and more on the caramel side. I finished with 10 Hour Imperial Stout leads with smoky. Coffee grounds being the other prominent note for me.

A good start on the beer and an even better start on the vibe and interior design.

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Trade Hog

You may know that Trademark Brewing is close to opening (or open now as of posting date). It is on my list of breweries to watch as Long Beach continues to grow apace.

Near them in the Washington neighborhood of Long Beach will reside the super small Hog Canyon Brewing. Founded by Larry Chavez, this nano is looking to open later this year, probably Q4 and start up with what will be by necessity a rotating set of beers.

Look for 1st Visit reviews of TM first and then Hog Canyon as I try to stay current with the scene to the south.